seit/since
1999

Premieres in English

Premieres

World
premiere May 2003 at the Teatro Real

Isaac Albéniz (1860 - 1909)

Merlin

Photo of the scene (photo: Birgit Popp)

Performance of June 4, 2003 - Though Isaac Albéniz
was one of the most important Spanish composers, he has never found the
recognition, he would deserve. Only few works of the already as a
'Wunderkind' worldwide - like in South America, Leipzig (GER) and
Bruxelles (BEL) - celebrated concert pianist are well-known today with
the exception of his piano pieces and there especially the
Suite Iberia, which has written
music history. And
this though Albéniz has written besides his piano works, of which the
most celebrated besides the Suite Iberia are Recuerdos de viaje, Espana, Seis hojas de álbum,
several pieces for the music theatre like The Magic Opal,
San Antonio de la Florida, Henry Clifford, Pepita Jiménez and Merlin.

Teatro
del Bosque Móstoles near Madrid (ESP)
Premiere 10. Mai 2003

Un
ballo in maschera

Text
and Photos: Birgit Popp

Within
easy reach of the center of Madrid by the recently opened Metro Sur, the
Teatro del Bosque at Móstoles is an affordable alternative to the
Teatro Real or the Teatro de la Zarzuela in the center of Madrid.

Teatro
Real Madrid (ESP), Premiere February 7/8, 2003

Faust
(Gounod)

Highly
acclaimed production with outstanding casts

Teatro de la Maestranza, Sevilla, Premiere October
25, 2002

Otello

A strange sight for a premiere !

Orchestra strike in Seville

Photos: Teatro de la Maestranza, Birgit Popp Text:
Birgit Popp

Certainly Carlos Álvarez would have appreciated to have his stage debut
as Jago in Verdi's Otello with less dramatic circumstances, as this was
the case in Seville (ESP) at October 25, 2002. Nevertheless, it became
an outstanding performance of the Spanish baritone.

Carlos Álvarez and Ángel Rodríguez

Impressions and contents

Teatro Real, Madrid, Premiere October 1, 2002

Simone Boccanegra

Photo: Birgit Popp

With a from all sides applauded, splendid
performance of Verdi's Simone Boccanegra the Teatro Real in Madrid (ESP)
opened on October 1 its fifth season since its reopening in 1997. Stage
director Giancarlo del Monaco and his stage and costume designer Michael
Scott have created together with the light designer Wolfgang Zoubek a
completely rounded work with an intensive atmosphere and magnificent
design. The five protagonists of the first night - Alexandru Agache
(Simone Boccanegra), Elisabete Matos (Amelia Grimaldi), Giacomo Prestia
(Jacopo Fiesco), Marco Berti (Gabriele Adorno) and Anooshah Golesorkhi
(Paolo Albani) - have been in as good form as the orchestra under the
baton of Gabriele Ferro.

Carlo (Franco Farina) and Amalia (Paula Delligatti) finally found each
other again, but too late for an happy-end.
Photo: Clive
Barda

While
Rigoletto (first performed in 1851) belongs to the standard repertory of
almost each opera house throughout the world, the Royal Opera House
staged with Verdi's I masnadieri (Libretto: Andrea Maffai after
Schiller's Die Räuber) a very seldom played opera of the Italian
composer, which had been first performed ever at London in 1847.

Famous opera premičre of Roméo et Juliette at the
Vienna State Opera -

Stefania Bonfadelli

Teatro Real, Madrid (ESP), Premiere October 1,
2001

Rigoletto

Carlos Alvarez als Rigoletto - Photo: Teatro Real

The night of Carlos Alvarez

For the opening of the 2001/2002-season at the Teatro Real Carlos Alvarez gave his
enthusiastically celebrated debut as Rigoletto, Verdi's tragic court jester and father
figure. The in Malaga born, young Spanish baritone embodied the difficult role as singer
and actor in an incredible intensive way with a sensible, but nevertheless force- and
powerful, beautiful voice. (more)

Vienna State Opera, Premiere December 7, 2000

Roberto Devereux

A festival of the great voices

The first appearance ever at the Vienna State Opera of Donizetti's 1837
at Neapel first staged opera drama about jalousy, love and betrayal became under the
musical direction of Marcello Viotti in the production of Silviu Purcarete and his
designer Helmut Stürmer a outstanding success for Edita Gruberova as Queen Elizabeth I.,
Ramon Vargas in the title role as Roberto Devereux, Ekelejda Shkosa as Sara, Duchesse of
Nottingham, and Yu Chen as Duke of Nottingham, who was covering the sick Carlos Alvarez.
An extended report will follow soon.

Edita Gruberova in her favourite role as Elizabeth I.Photo: Axel Zeininger

Gran Teatro de Liceo, Barcelona, October 7, 1999

Turandot

Opera Frankfurt (am Main), Premiere, October 2, 1999

Der
Fliegende Holländer - The Flying Dutchman

Bregenz Festival July 20 till August 23, 1999

Un ballo
in maschera

Photos: Birgit Popp (Agfa ePhoto CL 50)

Bregenz, floating stage, Premiere July 21, 1999: With the British stage
director team Richard Jones and Antony McDonald Verdi's whole opera 'Un ballo in maschera'
becomes a dance into death in a fantastic -surrealistic stage and light aesthetic carried
by the music's bow of tension, which the Vienna Symphonists under the baton of
Marcello Viotti never let get torn off.